•12th man at Texas A&M. By standing throughout home games, the student body serves as an extra "player." Stems from a 1922 game in which a student, called from the stands, stood ready to play even though he wasn't used.

•Dotting the "i", in which a sousaphone player in the Ohio State University band is honored by completing the famous Script Ohio formation.

•Marching cadets and midshipmen, who enter the stadium in formation to watch Army play Navy. After the game, the teams take turns serenading the fans with each academy's school song.

•Hook 'em hand signal of University of Texas, introduced by a cheerleader at a 1955 pep rally, which is intended to mimic a longhorn's head.

Notable college stadiums

Michigan: The largest college stadium, known as "The Big House," which seats 107,501.

Harvard: The world's first massive reinforced concrete structure (built in 1903 for $310,000). This year it will have lights for the first time.

Neyland: The University of Tennessee's home field in Knoxville, with its trademark orange-and-white checkerboard end zones. Boats use the nearby Tennessee River for tailgating.

Bronco: Home of Boise State in Idaho, known for its swimming-pool blue artificial turf.

Sanford: English privet hedges surround the University of Georgia's field in Athens, where games are said to be played "between the hedges."

Games of interest

Sept. 1 – East Carolina at Virginia Tech: VT's first game since the campus shooting.